A fun case of elementary deduction.
A mystery lover finds a way to appreciate Valentine’s Day.
Pippa the porcupine would rather read a Sherlock Gnomes book than do almost anything else—especially participate in Valentine’s Day projects like the one her teacher, Mr. Tod, has assigned the class. Whoever heard of making lists of “things that take up room in your heart”? At lunch, all the students share their heart-shaped pizzas—except for Pippa. Everyone has a best friend—except for Pippa. But what’s this? Someone’s pink, heart-shaped “love list” has attached itself to Pippa’s quills. Pippa is one of the items included on the list—somebody likes her! (Also on the list: Berry Berry Twigs cereal, the Beastly Boys, baking, and painting.) But who can it be? Pippa resolves to ferret out the answer. After wearing her Beastly Boys T-shirt and trying to share Berry Berry Twigs cereal with her classmates, Pippa is no closer to solving the mystery. What is she missing? After reviewing photos of all the love list activities she took part in, she discovers the identity of her secret friend. Valentine’s Day won’t be so lonely after all! Marsh’s focus on the mystery friend invites readers to go a-sleuthing alongside our curious porcupine. Lobo’s fanciful woodland classroom and schoolyard are filled with whimsical detail, from the boy band T-shirt to the bedecked cervine model whom the kids draw during art class. Sharp-eyed detectives will soon spot the mysterious friend. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fun case of elementary deduction. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35221-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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